p^^.S. FOREST SERVICE K 



7^-;X^^ 1963 '^^ 



/ ■ ' 



ortkeastero Forest 



1^ A 



NE-l s-- 



0CT9-1963 

 C & R-PREP. 



^EST SER 



OTORS AVENUE. UPPER DARBY, PA. 



xperiment Station 



A SIMPLE DEVICE 



FOR DEHAIRING INSECT EGG MASSES 



The egg masses of some lepidopterous insects are covered by a mat 

 of hairs that for some research purposes must be removed. Doing this by 

 hand is tedious. Besides, the hairs on the egg masses of certain insects 

 such as the gypsy moth {Porthetria dispar [L.] and the brown tail moth 

 Nygmia phaeorrhoea [Donov.]) can cause severe allergic reactions in 

 persons who are exposed to them. 



To overcome these difficulties, a mechanical dehairing device has been 

 developed. This device consists of a wide-mouthed 1 -quart glass jar, a 

 strainer soldered to a metal rim, a screw cap containing a filter for 

 trapping the hairs and debris, and an air inlet (fig. 1). 



The strainer, made of a cup-shaped piece of wire mesh, is soldered to 

 a metal rim insert that fits snugly into the mouth of the jar. The mesh is 



NOTICE 



This U. S. FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH NOTE is the first of a new 

 series of research publications by the Northeastern Forest Experiment 

 Station. In this new series, which has been adopted as standard for all the 

 Forest and Range Experiment Stations of the U. S. Forest Service, the 

 symbol NE will designate publications of the Northeastern Station. 



This new series replaces the Northeastern Station's series formerly known 

 as Forest Research Notes. In like manner, the series of Station Papers 

 previously published by the Northeastern Station will be designated from 

 now on as U. S. FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH PAPERS, and will be 

 identified by the symbol NE and a number. 



1 



